Shefield Anarchists

1

T/foe/s/Z/n

THE SHEFFIELD

ANARCHIST

PAY WHAT YOU LIKE NOV 1977 (VOL. I. NO. 13.)

A POLITICIAN IS AN ARSE UPON WHICH
EVERYONE HAS SAT EXCEPT A MAN

APOLOGIA

Well, we*ve at last managed to bring
out Vol.l No. 13 of "The Sheffield Anarchist"
Without delving into the details connected
with this delay, of about 25 months, we
feel that some attempt should be made at
explanation.

Firstly, we never intended to produce
‘regular* issues as such, but felt that
the emphasis should instead lay in quality
and publication would depend on sufficient
material of the right type being available.
It was thought at the time that Vol.l No. 11 i
was prepared (and this has since been
vindicated) that a high proportion of
illustrations, cartoons and the such would
be more helpful in getting anarchist ideas
across, to both the committed and the
uncommited, than would page after page of
unbroken script, no matter how well
argued such material might be.

We were fortunate in having a very
competent artist, much concerned with
layout and wholly responsible for the
artwork in No*s 11 & 12. This set (for us)
a very higjt standard to be maintained.
Unfortunately, the individual cineerned
has sinoe felt that his talents were
better expressed in other directions;
this left a considerable gap between
our expressed intentions and our actual
achievements, due to our lack of alternative
illustrative skills. This, together with a
certain degree of apathy and a bit of a
’manana* state of mind (the curse of many
anarchist individuals and groupings) on
the part of all comrades, coupled with
the fact that after No. 12 came out many
comrades took up committments (such as
Jobs) which they did not previously have,
accounts for the delay. Another reason
was a minor cash-flow problem (NOT, we
must emphasise, lack of cash) due to lack
of consideration of structural arrangements
on our part.

Anyway, after all that is said, Vol.l
No. 13 is now out, indicating the constancy,
if not consistency and efficiency, of
Sheffield comrades. Let*s hope that we*ve
sorted-out at least some of the difficulties
and that No. 14 will not take so long
to appear.

57 VARlCTiSS

— Au. u*>P»r
PoA HUMAN

anarchismanarchismanarchismanarehismanarchismanarchis

No man is good enough
to be another
Woman’s master

anarehismanarchismanarchismanarchismanarchismanarchis

w

No/man is good enough
to be another
man’s master

WHO NEEDS A SYSTEM WHERE WE
ALWAYS END UP VOTING FOR THE
LESSER OF TWO EVILS?

2

WHAT'S HAPPENING AMONGST

ANARCHISTS IN SHEFFIELD

THIS publication is produced by Sheffield
Anarohists as an aid to the wider
dissemination of the libertarian viewpoint
in the Sheffield area and elsewhere.

VOL. 1, No. 1. was originally published
in 1891, and was intended to be brought out
at fortnightly intervals. However, pressures
from the law, Christians, polioe and
authority in general (anti-terrorist
activity was used as a pretext) ensured
its closure after ten issues, three of
which we have copies of.

OUR anarchist aspirations remain
unaltered, and we have attempted to
continue the previous ’’editorial policy”
as far as modern printing techniques,
layout, and method of presentation allow.

THE paper has never had a fixed price,
in order that the want of a few pence
shall not prevent the sharing of our ideas.
However, if you do give generously, this
means that we shall be able to make more
copies available for free distribution.

All monies received are used in this way.

We pay ourselves no wages, under any
guise, and have no expense account, and
support no other enterprise.

ALL contributions ef a libertarian,
amarohist, pagan, humanist nature (articles,
letters, oartoens, Jokes, poetry, etc.)
will be thankfully received. Selection
for inclusion in the paper occurs only on
grounds of space, so brevity is preferable
te long-windednesa .

FURTHER oopies of this paper are available
from; —

UJAMAA,

>41 GLOSSOP ROAD,

SHEFFIELD S10 2HP

ANARCHISTS in Sheffield may be contacted
via Des, e/e UJamaa, or at our regular
Tuesday gatherings (social, if not
socialist in nature) at 10, Hanover Sq.,
Sheffield > at 7->0pw for 8-00pm (Tel.
731780).

Crashing space for visiting comrades
is available at 4, Havelock Sq., Sheff. 10

3

DURING the last few months, there
has been an encouraging upturn in the
degree of communication and aotivity on
the part of comrades here in Sheffield.

Locally, we are meeting one another
more frequently, both socially and in
more specifically anarchist contexts.

We have arranged two moderately
successful picnics in our surrounding
countryside (beautiful moorland scenery)
despite rather dull weather on both
occasions. For more information on
this topic, read * Picnic Propaganda* in
this issue. Also, one of our rare
general gatherings on November the
Fifth (when else?) at which it was
agreed to hold regular weekly meetings
as an ongoing means of more effective
contact and co-ordination in the region.

A University group is in the
process of formation, struggling
valiantly through the tangled undergrowth
of the Students Union bureaucracy whilst
attempting to retain some vestige of
libertarian function.

A Black Flag/Black Cross grouping
within the broader context of Sheffield
Anarohists has also been proposed and
has met with some support.

Local anarchists who happen to be
female feel no need of a separate
feminist grouping as such.

The Syndicate of Initiative has
produced a prototype journal entitled
*New Life* in which it is intended,
amongst other things, to have more
emphasis on current events than *The
Sheffield Anarchist*.

A deal of discussion has centered
around the issue of propaganda in its
various guises, including publications,
posters, graffiti, leaflets, badges
and the spoken word, and there is
general agreement that this should not
be limited to Sheffield, and finally,
the exposing of this, our organ, to
public appreciation or disdain, as the
case may warrant.

’’Whoever denies authority and
fights against it is an anarchist”

Sebastian Faure

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MARTYR

- . . .

.a.enict

WEBSTER?

AN interesting piece of information
oulled from the pages of Searchlight no.
28 (anti-fascist Journal), which many
people probably won*t have seen is
reproduced below: —

A few months ago a meeting took
place of the top brass of the Naiional
Front, British Movement and Column 88
(a semi-clandestine Nasi military
organisationwith much influence in all
extreme right groups in Britain - 88,

8th letter of alphabet is H, so i
88 - HH - Hell Hitler) to discuss an
offer from a group of renegade Tories
of very big financial assistance. There
were, however, certain rigid strings
attached to the offer, one of which was
that the NF GETS RID OF MARTIN WEBSTER
(their National Activities Organiser).

The Tories* financial offer included
funds for a new HQ for the Front and
backing to double their print programme
over the next 12 months. The Tory side
inoluded a merchant banker, a property
magnate and a prominent member of the
House of Lords, who has in the past
raised much money for the Tory party.

5

The souroe of the information is
someone in the NF hierarchy who feels
that any deal with any Tory element
would be a betrayal of the NF*s National
Socialist (ie Nasi) creed.lt seems that
it wouldn*t be enough for Webster Just
to be sacked from the Front, but what
the people concerned have in mind is
more in the line of Hitler* a "Final
Solution", and this would at the same
time provide the fascists with their
first martyr, as the blame would be put
on either the SWF or the IRA.

Whilst I don*t care what the
fascists do to one another and they can,
if they wish, kill one another off as
Hitler and the S3 did with the Brown-
shirts in 19 and although disagreeing
with the SWP and IRA, I feel that we,
as anarchists should be concerned that
blame for any such killing is not put
on any left-wing or, more especially,
anti-fascist group or individuals ).

It is for this reason that such
information should be publicised as
widely as possible, as publlo knowledge
of such plots would, hopefully, lessen
the likelihood of such events ooouring.

WEST GERMAN INDUSTRIALIST COMMITS SUICIDE

t

IN a sensational press conference
today, it was revealed by the Bonn
Government that industry chief, Hans
Martin Schleyer, whose body was found
in the boot of a car, had committed
suicide .

Medical and other experts who have
examined the body and the oar stated
that, contrary to earlier reports that
Schleyer had either tried to out his
throat or stab himself through the heart
with a breadknife, he had in fact shot
himself through the back of the head
with a pistol; apparently the experts
are undecided as to whether the pistol
was a 7.65«ra or a 9®n>, as three bullets
of differing calibre were found in the
boot of the ear, only one of which had
blood on it. Earlier reports that marks
similar to wire-burns were found on
Schleyer *s neck have been denied by the
Government .

The authorities publicly apologised
to the Red Army Fraction, whom they had
initially accused of murdering Dr.
•ehleyer, and also said that they
regretted having murdered Baader, Ensslin
Raspe and for trying to murder Moeller
in revenge for Schleyer *s death. It
appears that Information emanating from
the RAF, which has been checked and
substantiated by the W. German government
shows that Schleyer staged his suicide
after making it seem that he had been
kidnapped, and in such a way as to make
it look as if he had been murdered by
the RAF, even to the extent of using his
left hand to hold the gun, even though
he was usually right-handed.

Further searches of the oar have
also revealed explosives and razor-blades

"One must always decide for
oneself, and efforts to shift
the burden of responsibility
upon others are necessarily
self-defeating. Not to choose
is also to choose, for even if
we deliver our power of decision
to others, we are still
responsible for having done so.

It is always the individual
who decides that others shall
ehoose for him."

R.G, Olsen *An Introduction n
to Existentialism * 1962

LIFE OF SCHLEYER

1915 Born in Offenburg/Baden
1931 Member of Hitler Youth
1934 Student member of S3 (member
no. 227014) - wore Golden
Badge of Honour - head of
Imperial Student Union of
Heidelberg (a cover organiz-
ation for German Security
Service) - later carried-
out same job in Innsbruck
and Prague

1927 Law student - S3 troop leader
1938 Sent to Austria after union

with Germany to organize fascist
student organizations; and
after 1940 to Prague where he
worked in the 'Protectorate*
to harness Czech industrial
output for Nazi Germany* s war
aims. Remained in Prague until
a few days before it was
liberated, and then headed
"home for the Reich". Schleyer
was already a high Nazi official,
a reward for, as he put it,

"being drawn into the struggle
at an early stage". Arrested by
Americans, he was held for 2
yearsfor his war activities and
then released - Americans were
looking for people like him to
run industry.

1951 Began career with Daimler-Benz .
1959 deputy member of manage-
ment and by 1962 a director
(Current manager of D-Benz,

Dr. Joachim Zahn is another *old
fighter* in the Nazi cause -
his party number was 250-194)
1972 Appointed head of Federal Union
of German Employer Associations
1976 President of Federation of
German Industry

REVOLUTION IS MADE NOT ON THE
STREETS, BUT IN THE HEARTS AND
MINDS OP WOMEN?

WE DO NOT BECOME FREE BY
CHAINING THE CHAINS, BUT
BY BREAKING THEM!

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Whafc'3 the bekfc'fljf ne does +qq ?!’

TROTSKY ON THE SAILORS OF KRON3TKDT

"...the pride and glory of the
revolution" July 1917

"You will be shot like partridges"
March 1921

WHAT British Anarchist founded a
daily working-class newspaper?

Apvrfc-r'i setter

YOU TOO CAN KNOW ALL ABOUT POLITICS
WITH THIS WONDERFUL NEW LIBRARY.

You too can sit there night after
night and discuss politics to your
hearts content. On this cheap offer
are Marx’s Das Capital, the complete
works of Marcuse, Kropotkin and
John Stuart Mill, edited editions
of Engels, Lenin, Mao-Tse-Tung,

Hitler and E.F .Schumacher .

YOU TOO CAN BE A REVOLUTIONARY.

NO EFFORT.

NO THOUGHT.

EASY INSTALLMENTS, 24-MONTH PLAN.

Cultivate friends from the ease of
your very own armchair. Have the mast
powerful intellects and the leading
figures of twenty years tim$ sit
around your feet and listen aghast
whilst you expound the secrets of
the Universe.

John Create, of Sheffield, founded
'La Protesta* in Buenos Aries.

ANARCHY IS FREEDOM.

CHAOS IS WHAT WE HAVE NOW.

IO

BETTER BLACK THAN RED OR DEAD

Anarchy Liberty . NOT Disorder

A LARGE number of prisoners, feminists and one-time authoritarian Leftists have
recently become conscious anarchists. Often this move has been prompted by negative
experiences - the rejection of Marxism-Leninism or capitalism - rather than a firm
understanding of anarchism as a positive revolutionary alternative. Many of those who
turn to anarchism quickly abandon it because they see little being built and feel that
it offers no organizational forms. But, in fact, anarchism contains solid structural
alternatives to other forms of socialism.

There have been three major forms of socialism — libertarian socialism (anarchism),
* author itarian±nm* socialism (Marxist communism) and democratic socialism (electoral
social democracy). The non-anarchist left has echoed the bourgeoisie *s portrayal of
anarchism as an ideology of chaos and lunacy. But anarchism, and especially anarehist-
oommunism, has nothing in common with this image; anarchists are social revolutionaries
who seek a stateless, voluntary, co-operative federation of decentralized communities
— based upon social ownership, individual liberty and autonomous se If -management .

Organizationally, they differ from the author itarian revolutionary socialists, the
Marxist -Leninists, in, primarily , three ways. Anarchists reject the M-L notions of the
VANGUARD PARTY, DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM and the DICTATORSHIP OP THE PROLETARIAT, and
HAVE alternatives to them. The problem is that almost the entire left, including some
anarchists, is completely unaware of anarchism* s tangible structural alternatives of
the CATALYST GROUP, ANARCHIST CONSENSUS and the MASS COMMUNE.

CATALYST GROlfP

The anarchist alternative to the VANGUARD PARTY is the CATALYST GROUP. In order
to make a revolution, large-scale, co-ordinated movements are necessary, and their
formationis, in no way, counter to anarchism; what anarchists are opposed to is
hierarchical, power -tripping leadership AND undefined, ambiguous leadership which
suppresses the creativity of the bulk of those involved. Obviously, some people are
mere experienced, articulate or skilled than others, and these people will play
leadership roles (although there is a conscious attenpt to pass on skills to each
other), and they may form groups which drive forward, and help crystalize the potential
for revolutionary change. The members of these groups reject hierarchical positions -
having -more *offieial authority* than others - and, unlike the M-L vanguard parties,
they won't perpetuate their leadership after the revolution. Instead, the catalyst
group will be dissolved and its members, as individuals, will be absorbed as equal
participants into the new societies collective deeision-making process.

COtfTD. ©VI*

11

We don't want a group of authoritarians "leading" us, then establishing themselves
as a neutralised decision-making command. Instead of Withering away', M-L parties
have perpetuated authoritarian institutions to maintain their own power. The apparent
effectiveness of sueh organisations -"we're just as efficient, disciplined and
centralised as the capitalists" - masks the way that ’revolutionaries* who pattern
themselves after capitalist institutions (domination, hierarchy) become absorbed by
bourgeois values, and become completely isolated from the real needs and desires of
ordinary people.

ANARCHIST CONSENSUS

While anarchist groups reach decisions through ANARCHIST C0NSEK3US, the M-L's
organize through DEMOCRATIC CENTRALISM by which each member of a group - ultimately
cf a society - is subordinate to a "higher" member until one reaches the central
committee. Members must participate when told to, even if they’re unsupportive of
the proposed project, or face expulsion by thecentral committee.

In anarchist groups, proposals are talked out by members (none of whom has
authority over another), dissenting minorities are respected and each individual’s
participation is voluntary. As anarchist writer Murray Bookchin points out:
"Co-ordination and self-discipline must be achieved voluntarily, by virtue of the
high moral and ^intellectual calibre of the revolutionary. To seek less than this is
to aeeept , as a ’revolutionary', a mindless robot, a creature of authoritarian
training, a manipulable agent who's antithetical to any society that could be
remotely regarded as free."

Anarchist organizations are structured around ongoing work-group committees.
Unlike M-L groups in which new, inexperienced "cadre" are shovelled off into the
shit Jobs of 'lower* committees (like ±u leaf letting and stamp-licking committees),
anarchist work-groups are equal, structured around the interests of those involved
and new members of the organization join the committee of their choice or start their
own.

When the size of the work-groups (which oould be groups organized around media,
actions, theatre, finances...) becomes cumbersome, the organization can be
decentralized into two, or several, autonomous organizations, still united in one
large federation. This enables the group to expand limitlessly while maintaining its
anarchic form of decentralized self -management.

Anarchist groups aren't even NECESSARILY organized loosely; anarchism is flexible
and structures oan be practically non-existent or very tight, depending upon the
organization demanded by the conditions being faced. For instance, organization would
tighten during military operations.

12

MASS COMMUNE

Unlike Beakers of M-L parties, whose daily lives are generally similar' to present
bourgeois lifestyles, anarchist organizational structures and lifestyles (through
communes, trikes, affinity groups..,), attempt to reflect the liberated sooiety of
the future. Since the M-L*s don’t build co-operative structures, the nucleus of the
new society (anarchists buiklt them throughout the Spanish revolution), while tearing
capitalism apart, they want to seize state power and institute their own ditatorship
of the proletariat instead of orushing state power and replacing it with a
co-operative, freee society.

Of course the party, they insist, represents - IS - the proletariat, and just
what it dictates is never really made clear. Instead of the DICTATORSHIP OP THE
PROLETARIAT the anarchists propose the MASS COMMUNE. Anarchists look to a society
in which real decision making involves everyone who lives in it - a mass commune, not
a few discipline freaks pulling the strings on a so-called "proletarian” ditatorship.
While Marxists claim that this dictatorship is necessary in order to crush bourgeois
counter-revolutions, anarchists feel that such a centralized State apparatus is a
much easier target for opponents of the revolution than is an array of decentralized
communes. And these communes would remain armed and prepared to defend the revolution
against anyone who militarily moves against it.

WE don't need the M-L f s authoritarian solutions, but to much of the left the
choice has appeared to be anarchic chaos or M-L organization, however authoritarian.

But anarchism as an ideology provides feasible structural alternatives which, if
utilized, could be the basis for organizations just as solid as those of the M-L's;
only the organizations would be egalitarian.

Anarchism isn't confined to the ideas of a speoific theoritician and it allows
individual creativity to develop in collective groupings. Not being cultist, it
encourages a great deal of innovation, prompting its adherents to respond realistically
to contemparary conditions.

The anarchist goal of total freedom isn't being stymied by the theory. It is,
however, being obstructed by those of its adherents who feel that organization,
political committment and activity are somehow evil. They aren’t; they’re necessary
and in no way counterposed to anarchism. We must build an organized, co-ordinated
international movement aimed at transforming the globe into a mass commune. pro.

I HEARTILY ACCEPT THE MOTTO - "THAT
GOVERNMENT IS BEST WHICH GOVERNS
LEAST"; ... AND CARRIED OUT, IT
FINALLY AMOUNTS TO THIS, WHICH I
ALSO BELIEVE - "THAT GOVERNMENT
IS BEST WHICH GOVERNS NOT AT ALL".

ANARCHY ENTAILS A DEGREE OF
ORGANIZATION, BUT BY
COOPERATION, NOT COERCION.

13

THIS article is reprinted fro* 'Open Road' issue 4 (Pall 1977) and was originally
written by Mark Brothers. While the typist does not totally agree with everything
contained in the article, I an including it in 'The Sheffield Anarchist* in order to
■ake the article available to a wider readership than it would normally have (to ny
knowledge less than half a dozen people in Sheffield read 'Open Road'), and also beoause
it is a good article on anarchist ideas and methods of organization.

A CRIMINAL POLICE FORCE ?

IN view of the large amounts of
oash and time spent by the State in
analysing the supposedly 'deviant'
tendencies and 'abnormal* psychology of
those amongst us classified as 'criminal',
is it not surprising that there have
been few studies on the psychological
differences between them and the police?
The reason is not hard to find, and that
is that all studies based on the usual
psychological tests and criteria fail to
find a significant difference. Perhaps
they are not sufficiently refined, but
surely, the ordinary member of society
must ask her/^iimself , there OUGHT to be
a more profound difference than mere
possession of a uniform?

The great majority of the populace,
living lives which are all too often
unsatisfying, and which at times seem to
be horrendously futile, are caught up in
the schizophrenic dilemma of having to
conform to the mores of a society,
cynical and corrupt, with which they
disagree. The herd instinct of the urge
to conformity ensures that on this
battlefield of the mind spontaneity,
more often than not, is suppressed in
favour of the routine. The medically
certified schizophrenic simply gives
outward expression to this inner conflict.
However, this war between freedom and
slavery is continuously recurrent,
setting up tensions inside the individual
which are reflected in society as a
whole, and within its constituent parts.

The 'criminal* attempts to reduce
this tension by expressing in the direct
form of action whatever is most violent
and outraged in his/her depths. This
aotion takes on a multitude of forms,
child-battering, fape and the like at
one extreme, vandalism, self -exposure
at the other. The 'policeman' attempts
to disguise his violence, even to
Justify it, by donning a uniform. This
is common knowledge, but it explains why

14

the police-force will put up with poor
salary (so they say), public dislike,
inconvenient working hours, and a
general sense of bad conscience. They
know that they are lucky; they know that
they oan overtly and successfully get
away with the anti-social tendencies
implicit in their makeup. These
tendencies are at the forefront of a
policeman's consciousness; he is in a
stink of perspiration whenever he goes
into action; he can tolerate nothing in
the way of an insult, and virtually no
contradiction; he lies with a simplicity
and quick confidence which will stifle
the protest of any upright citizen who
encounters it innocently for the first
time. The only difference between a
'goo<$ 'copper and a 'bad' copper is that
the former will at least do no more than
give his own, slanted version of events -
the latter will make up his own version.
That is why persons who have been beaten
up by the jribo police are invariably
charged with assaulting the police; the
guiltier the situation in which a copper
finds himself, the more he will attack
the victim who is the cause of it.

There are, it must be said, 'decent'
policemen in the public imagination. A
few, very few, are veritable paragons of
virtue, and some, violent when they are
young, mellow into modestly corrupt,
humorous and decently efficient officials.
Almost everyone who has had close contact
with the actual, as opposed to the
reported, day to day activities of our
'Boys in Blue' (try calling one'boy'!),
for instance, social workers, squatters,
pickets, magistrates, victims of crime
know in their heart of hearts that they
are an essentially criminal force. They
are only restrained by their »wn guilt,
their covert awareness that they are
imposters, and by a thin leavening of
career men, whose education, apparent
rectitude, socially athletic abilities.

and an almost religious dedication to
'duty*, make them work for a balance
between Justice and authority. These men,
who scare the average copper as much as
a priest does a choirboy, are the thin
restraining veneer of civilization on
the force. That, and the average corrupt
constable's awareness that he is not
wanted that much by anyone, anyway.

Obie IS HEU!? it 4

A T> ocRft , A tsJD -TMt
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WHAT was it Jim Connell was
"inspired to write by the Paris Commune
the heroism of the Russian nihilists,
the firmness and self-sacrifice of the
Land Leaguers and the devotion unto
death of the Chicago Anarchists"?

"The Red Flag"; it has nothing
to do with the Russian Communist Party,
as suggested by Tories - it was written
in 1889 - nor is it appropriately sung
at labour rallies.

PICNIC PROPAGANDA

attempts have been made to draw together
the various anarchist groups and
individuals from different parts of
the country. The ostensible aim of
these meetings has almost invariably
been to set up some sort of national
federation, and their net result IN
THIS RESPECT has been one of failure.
However, the vast majority of anarchists
in Britain do appreciate the need, even
the necessity, for some kind of mutual
contact leading, hopefully, to more
effective co-operative actions.

It has been noticeable, at least
over the past nine years or so, that
the most enduring contacts between
groups and individuals have been forged
INFORMALLY, albeit under a more formalized
reason for the gathering. Meaningful
debate has more often occurred outside
the main forum than inside. Accordingly,
it occurred to Sheffield comrades some
years ago that a purely informal
gathering, optimistically a series of
such, would prove more fruitful initially
than the repetition of past failures to
adopt a structured federal system.

Encouraged by the success of a
picnic arranged by London comrades this
last summer, we in Sheffield have held
two subsequent get-togethers, one
publicised (somewhat poorly) on a national
scale, which was attended by comrades
from several different towns, the other
a more localised affair. These were, in
effect, 'dry runs* which have enabled us
to adapt a format suitable for a larger
scale event next year, possibly in late
springtime

Our^ s' for holding

such gat'

|ing countryside
•chist group
(nts, etc.
aphical

[rom most other

ig further
about
g suoh
suggestions
.d Anarchist

16

THE SHEFFIELD ANARCHIST
BOX 1A,

341 GLOSSOP ROAD,

SHEFFIELD S10 2HP

Sheffield Anarchists can he
contacted via the above address;
please send any contributions,
suggestions, orders for copies of
the paper, etc., etc. to this
address. Cheques, PO*s, etc.
should be made payable to "Sheffield
Anarchists”.

None of the original (or liberated 1 )
articles in this paper necessarily
represent the opinion of the Sheffield
anarchist grouping as a whole, but
only that of their writer or contrib-
utor

The original material in the paper is
anti-copyright and anyone can do what
they like with any part of it....

Our thanks to the originators of
borrowed* materials, even if they
weren*t consulted.

THE SHEFFIELD

ANARCHIST

'VOL . 1 NO. 14 ) MAY 1978 PAY WHAT YOU LIKE

THE SHEFFIELD ANARCHIST,
BOX 1A,

341 GLOSSOP ROAD,
SHEFFIELD 10.

This publication is produced by Sheffield
Anarchists as an aid to the wider
dissemination of anarchist and libertarian
viewpoints in the Sheffield area and
elsewhere.

Sheffield anarchists can be contacted via
the above address, from which firther copies
of this paper are available and to which any
contributions, suggestions, criticisms, etc
can be sent. Any contributions of an
anarchist, libertarian, pagan, humanist
nature (articles, letters, cartoons, jokes,
poetry, etc) will be gratefully received.

None of the original (or 'liberated')
articles in this paper necessarily represent
the opinion of the Sheffield grouping as a
whole, but only that of the writer or
contributor. Original material in this paper
is anti-copyright and anyone can do what they
like with any part of it.

Our thanks to the originators of 'borrowed'
materials, even if they weren't consulted.

Sheffield Anarchists meet on Tuesdays at
10 HANOVER SQUARE, Sheffield 3 at 7.30pm
for 8.00. Tel. 731780

Crashing space for visiting comrades is
available at 4 HAVELOCK SQUARE, S10.

SATURDAY MAY 13

This will take the form of a picnic,
weather permitting,

VENUE i Meet at the 'FOX HOUSE’ public
house, which is about 8 miles west of
Sheffield on the A625 Sheffield-Hathersage
road.

Arrangements will be made for comrades
wishing to arrive on the Friday. There will
also be a 'social' on the Saturday night
for any/all comrades wishing to stay.

All enquiries to Sheffield Anarchist
contact address, or phone i

(0742) 731780 or (0742) 737722

"It's stopped reigning . .

NEW LIFE — Issue No. 1

Anarcho-Situationist magazine
produced by the Syndicate of
Initiative, Sheffield

Price 15p from 341 Glossop Rd.

Sheffield.

2

ABC OF ANARCHISM - BERK MAN

I want to tell you about anarchism.

I want to tell you what anarchism Is, because
it. Also because so little is known about it, and what is known is generally
hearsay and mostly false.

I want to tell you about it, because I believe that anarchism is the finest and
biggest thing man has ever thought of; the only thing that can give you liberty
and well-being, and bring peace and joy to the world.

Therefore I must tell you, first of all, what anarchism is not .

It is NOT bombs, disorder and chaos.

It is NOT robbery and murder.

It is NOT a war of each against all.

It is NOT a return to barbarism or to the wild state of man.

ANARCHISM IS THE VERY OPPOSITE OF ALL THAT.

Anarchism means that you should be free; that no-one should enslave you, boss
you, rob you, or impose upon you.

It means that you should be free to do the things you want to do; and that you

should not be compelled to do what you don't want to do.

It means that you should have a chance to choose the kind of life you want to

live, and live it without anybody interfering.

It means that the next fellow should have the same freedom as you, that everyone
should have the same rights and liberties. ...

In short, anarchism means a condition of society where all men and women axe

free, and where all enjoy equally the benefits of an ordered and sensible life.

ALEXANDER BERKMAN

IT is capitalism and government
which stand for disorder and
violence. Anarchism is the very
reverse of it; it means order
without government and peace
without violence.

THEY too were storming heaven -
do you think they fought in vain;
that because they lost a battle
they would never rise again;
that the man with the leaflets,
the woman with a gun, did not
have a daughter, did not have
a son?

Bored ?

A Bit Thick ?

WE COULD USE YOU

The South Yorkshire Police Force are
looking for morons to maintain Law and
Disorder in our society.

The ability to harass and prevent
people enjoying themselves and to obey
without question is a must . Sadistic
tendencies a distinct advantage.

Benefits include being able to break
the law without fear of prosecution..

BE AN UNWANTED MEMBER OF SOCIETY

J

3

G TONIGHT

In Canada and the USA, 1977 was the
"Year of the Pie" ; some incidents of
pie-throwing received major media coverage,
eg, when Eldridge Cleaver was pied in
Vancouver on Mayday '77» the event and
the reasons for it received more coverage
in some Montreal papers than did a 10,000
strong TU inarch the same day. Could
1978 be the "Year of the Pie" in Britain?

The aim of pie-throwing, or 'pieing',
is to publicly embarrass leading public
figures, but of equal importance is the
content of the pie; for instance, Cleaver
was hit with an Oreo cream pie (chocolate
on the outside, vanilla in the middle).
International Pie Week was called for
Nov. 4-11, '77 by the Anarchist Party of
Canada (Groucho-Marxist) and unleashed a
major offensive. Amongst the victims
were i -

Canadian Cabinet Minister Ron Basford,
who signed extradition papers on American
Indian Movement militant Leonard Peltier,
sending him back to face two life sentences
(on trumped-up charges) in the USA

The President of Robinhood Multifoods
during a press conference called to defend
the shooting of 7 strikers at his Montreal
flour mills
David Frost
Guru Maharaji Ji

Brain surgery experimenter Jose Delgado,
hit with a cow-brain and tomato sauce
concoction

Pieing of the Year '77 was against
Anita Bryant, american anti-gay campaigner
and generally one of the most unpleasant
people this side of Darth Vader, The
event took place at a press conference she
gave on her ideas of proposed "homosexual
rehabilitation centres" | a sobbing Bryant
made an undignified exit, praying.

But beware - pieing can have its dangers
as when one intrepid thrower was put in
hospital with a fractured skull by a gang
of Christian fanatics.

So far, the only victim in Britain
has been Tory MP Michael Heseltine, who
was hit at a Tory students meeting in Leeds
Who says politics can't be fun? Let
1978 be the Year of the Pie in Britain -
some of us hope to make it so in Sheffield,

Alain Lucard

Cojonef.

ANSWERi Colonel H. A. Johnstone is the
'Colonel B' referred to in the
prosecution of Messrs, Aubrey, Berry
and Campbell under the Official Secrets
Act,

The facts of his identity, ie, , 420864
Col. H, A. Johnstone, MBE, formerly of the
Royal Corps of Signals, now of the Army
General Staff, attached to section DI24,
was obtained totally legally from
published sources and published in
'Peace News' and 'The Leveller'; these
papers are now being prosecuted for
so-called 'contempt of court'.

As anarchists, we have nothing but
contempt for all bourgeois and
capitalist- controlled courts, and so we
are publishing these details in
solidarity with our comrades under
prosecution. We echo the sentiments of
their statement 1 -

"We are unrepentant about the naming of
Colonel H.A, Johnstone, We will continue
to publicise the name of the mysterious
Colonel B and any official secrets we
can lay our hands on. This is not mere
radical hell-raising; official secrets
laws are used to • . , impose further
limitations on freedom of speech in
Britain,

4

..AMD THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY
MO RISK VWATSOEVEK....

A DECADE OF ANARCHISM IN SHEFFIELD

My main aim in composing this brief
summary of anarchism in Sheffield over
the past ten years is twofold i

1. To inform comrades at present
active within our own grouping of our
antecedents within a roughly dated, tho'
fairly concise format.

2. To give encouragement to other
provincial groupings which may just be
starting, or going through a phase where
nothing much seems to be happening. All
groupings have small beginnings, and go
through bad patches, but the progress
of anarchism in any locality need not be
dependant upon regular meetings, or upon
the activities of a formally organised
group as such.

This is a largely personal account,
though memory being sometimes at fault,

I have attempted to verify my reccollect-
ions by consulting other comrades involved
during the period. I have divided the
sequence of events into 'phases' , though
it must be understood that these were by
no means distinct from one another, and
that there was much overlap, and a sense
of continuity throughout. Names have been
omitted in the interests of brevity and to
'protect the innocent'.

1968-69

The origins of Sheffield Anarchists
as an effective grouping lie in the
proselytising of a folk-singing student,
who had become aware of anarchism by way
of the C.N.D. movement in the early and
middle sixties, and the activity of another
(female) student who had previously been
involved with the Harlow Anarchist Group.

As a result of several conversations a
number of interested persons agreed to hold
regular meetings in the back room of a
local pub. At these meetings (attended
usually by 6-12 people) 'Freedom' and
'Anarchy 'magazines were distributed, and
much discussion, often heated, took place,
since for most of us the concept of anarchy
was novel, and we were eager both to learn
and to pass on to others what we had learned.

Despite the fact that such advertising
of meetings as took place was restricted
to the University, about one-third of those
attending were non-students. Activities
during this period included anti-Vietnam
war demonstrations, attendance of national
conferences, active participation in the
Yorkshire Anarchist Federation, and small

1

scale distribution of literature. It
might be added that we had o excellent
relations with the pub landlord and other
customers, to the extent of making-up a
'Tetleys' Quiz League' team. Towards the
end of this phase, group activity, as such
declined due to the affliction of Finals
on the student element, whilst the town
element was concerned with more individual
action.

I 97 O .74

Due to the falling-off of University
participation, and the consequently greater
role played by local comrades, it was
decided to shift the focus of our weekly
gatherings to a pub nearer the city centre,
furthur removed from the campus, but more
accessible to other Sheffielders. Perhaps
as a result of this, these gatherings became
less 'formal', and were not publicised
except by word-of mouth. The functions of
the early group being taken over by an
unorganised grouping. We felt at the time,
and for several subsequent years, that this
move towards interacting affinity groups was
sufficient in itself.

One of our major problems in the early
stages had been the lack of a stable address
but this was overcome by the establishment
of a household by several comrades (and a
Trotl)* which latterly became known as 'The
Commune' locally. This provided a contact
point for a diffuse movement more concerned
with activity and experiment, both individ-
ual and collective, than with traditional
theory.

Contact was maintained nationally through
the ill-fated Anarchist Federation of Britain
conferences, and the more effective, though
equally doomed Anarchist Syndicalist Alliance.
Two A.S.A. conferences were held in Sheffield,
and a copy of 'Black and Red Outlook' was
produced here. An offset litho printing pr~
press was purchased using money donated by
anarchists and libertarian socialists, and
was for some time operated by an anarchist.

Several comrades from other parts of the
country took-up residence here, helping us
to furthur extend our range of talents and
contacts. A university group was forsed,
the Freedom Group, which received some cash
from the Students' Union, enabling regular
selling of libertarian literature, the
invitation of outside speakers, the showing
of at least one film (Dawn Over Spain), and
fairly regular meetings* jinoderatly attended.

A small Blask Cross Group was intermittenly

5

sending-off parcels, letters etc.,
to anarchists in prison here and
abroad. Some research was conducted
at the City Library with reference to
anarchist activity in the region during
the last century. Amongst material
photo-stated were three conies of a
paper 'The Sheffield Anarchist',
orinally published in the 1890' s. This
gave us a valuable awareness of local
anarchist tradition, and an indentificat
-ion with our predecessors in the struggle
for liberty. Numbers involved in these
and other activities were always
difficult to estimate, but the town
group consisted of from twenty to thirty
individuals, with a university group of
ten to fifteen.

1975-77

During this period the Commune
non-functioning for two years, was
regenerated, and once again became a
fulcrum for action. A national ^confer-
ence i 'Unity in Diversity' was held in
the City Hall, which was well attended
by local comrades, with a reasonable
attendance from other areas. A Third
World handicrafts and books shop was
opened, Ujamaa, with anarchist/libert-
arian-socialist participation which has
since become the prime source of Left/

Third World/Altemative/Anarchist
literature in the region. A closer contact
between university and town was establish
-ed, resulting in the production of 'The
Sheffield Anarchist' nos 11 and 12, which
had an encouraging reception locally,
nationally and even internationally.
Publication of no. 13 was delayed by a
variety of causes for a period of two
years, during which time the Freedom
Group disintegrated.

Attendance of national conferences at
Warwick and Stoke acted as a stimulus to
overcome our endemic regional isolation-
ist tendancies (We'er all right, Jill,
so what ' s the point bothering with
conferences, federations and the like?).
Last summer (1977) we got together a
rather poorly publicised national picnic,
and followed that up with a more local-
ised affair. Both were very enjoyable and
enabled us to make new contacts, as well
as to review our own organisation, or
lack of it. As an indirect outcome it was
agreed that a possible fault in our
informal structure and 'word of mouth'
approach, was that people to whom anarchism
might be of interest, might not be aware
of the existence of a group in the area.
Affinity groups in their various forms are
notoriously difficult for Authority to

locate and deal with, but unless one
happens to know, or know of, one of these
elusive anarchists, the same also applies
to potencial sympathisers. Dissemirtation
of information, and effective response has
been poor, due to reliance on more or less
chance meetings. Accordingly, whilst retain
-ing a generally informal structure, we now
have regualar weekly meetings, a mutual
financing arrangement, a more efficient
secretariat, and are exploring the possib-
ilities of various forms of propaganda. The
town group now numbers about thirty, and a
reconstituted university group has a nominal
membership of about twenty.

This, in a city of 500,000 inhabitants
represents 0. 00001# of the population, which
leaves us a bit of room for expansion in the
following decade.

COMMENT

Throughout the past ten years anarchism
in Sheffield has always encompassed a variety
of viewpoints, ranging from situationism to
communism, pacifism to individualism, and
all points between. This has engendered much
fruitful and valuable discourse, but without
serious dissention as yet. We believethat
this is partly due to our small numbers (ie.
hardly sufficient to form a breakawaygroup)
and partly to the atmosphere of tolerance
brought about by close social interaction.

During the same period we have employed
several methods of organisation, none of
which was either right or wrong . Methods of
working together have been selected,
conciously or unconciously , as to which ever
was the most appropiate to both the situation
appertaining and to the individuals involved.
There is no more appalling spectacle than
that of a good anarchist group crucified
upon the cross of an inappropiately rigid
organisational structure.

Individuals, often in cooperation with
othersof like mind, have pursued such courses
and issues as have most suited their
inclinations and abilities. These have
included* Vietnam, women, education, communes,
squatting, claimants unions, anti NF, no nukes.
Such diversity of opinion within the anarchist
group is one of our most precious attributes.
However, the anarchists, as a group, have
been largely concerned with the spred of
ANARCHISM, rather than its manifestations.

This system, patriarchal, authoritive and
divisive, provides anarchist archers with a
target too large to be easily missed.

All we've got to do is to get people

to make their own bows and arrows! !

6

I'm Nor
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X*M 6 oinC To
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INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WO^LD

If anyone is interested in a union
that is militant, organized from below
and that is controlled by the rank and
file, a union where the people in
positions of responsibility are fully
accountable to those who put them there,
then the IWW is the union for you. It
is perhaps the oldest union which is
truly international, having locals in
most of the English-speaking world,
and elsewhere such as Scandanavia. Also
it is the only union in this country to
have facilities for the unemployed and
the woman or man engaged in household
domestic work. It is organized
industrially, that is on wider grounds
than craft unions. It doesn't matter
what you do in an industry, you
organize in that industrial unit, which
saves a lot of factional fighting and
allows the concerted action of all those
involved. Solidarity is much easier to
achieve in this form of organization and
thus benefits the working person. If
you are interested in expanding the IWW
membership in Sheffield, then contact
Des or Rita at 667029 or via the
Sheffield Anarchists.

Before all else I ought to say that
governments are repugnant to me. I am
firmly convinced that there is not, and
cannot be a good government. They are
all bad, whether they call themselves
absolute monarchies or constitutional
republics. Government i« tyranny
because it curtails the individuals free
initiative, and the sole purpose it
serves is to uphold a social system
which is unsuitable for the true
development of human beings. Governments
are the guardians of the interests of
the rich and educated classes and the
destroyers of the sacred rights of
the proletariat.

Ricardo FI. ores Magon

Humanity will only be happy when the
last capitalist has been s trangled with
the guts of the last bureaucrat — and
the 'last judge with the gut s of the
last cleric.

7

Propaganda

Propaganda need not be elaborate and
expensive, and in Sheffield we have been
experimenting- with some of the simpler
forms that people may have overlooked,,

1) BADGES

Amongst all the badges being produced at
the moment, there are very few, if any,
anarchist or anarchic ones. A-symbols can
be done quite simply; take any old badge
and paint over it to give a background
( 'Humbrol '-type model -kit paints or spray-
cans are best) and when dry paint on the
A in a different colour, or, if you're
not using black for your background colour
then black 'Letraset' is quite effective.
Some shops sell 1" diameter badges in
plain colours (in Sheffield, Andrews behind
City Hall sells them at 5p each),

2) STICKERS

These can be produced relatively cheaply
by most commercial printers, but a cheap
DIY method (also useful for slogans that a
commercial printer might not do; is to use
plain white gummed labels; these come in a
variety of sizes, but 5 M x3" are Drobably
about best. Slogans, symbols, etc can then
be written on with waterproof marker pens.

A selection of slogains is on the next page
for anyone stuck for ideas.

3) SPRAYPAINTING

A variation on the normal method that one
comrade came up with is the use of a
template. Cut your slogan or symbol out of
a piece of sturdy card, place the card
against a wall or window and then give a
quick spray over the card with the paint to
leave your message behind. Although the
result is smaller, the method is quicker,
so that if you're putting graffitti up in
well-lit areas, there's less chance of
being apprehended by the "guardians of law
and order".

What is this thing we call government? Is
it anything else but organized violence?
The law orders you to do this or not to do
that, and if you. fail to obey, it will
compel you by force . .. all government,
all law and authority finally rest on
force and violence, on punishment or fear
of punishment.

Alexander Berkman

uIEFFIELD BLACK CROSb

The Sheffield Black Cross is hoped
to be like any other Black Gross gi'oup,
for the aid of prisoners and anarchist
prisoners in particular. The aim is to
provide money where it is needed and
other support in the form of letters
to the prisoners themselves and also
letters of crotest to the imprisoning
authorities. The people we hope to
support are i

ir Britain, three comrades who art
in Wormwood Scrubs at present serving
seven y«ars for armed robbory, that
is Phil Ruff, Brian Gibbons an rl Dave
Campbell ;

in Greece there are a number of
anarchists ir: prison or facing trial
because of their beliefs; names can
be given on request. They are being
held by means of frame-ups, snurious
charges, and they also suffer oeatings
by the police;

in Americe, there are suer, topic
as Emily Harris (and Bill) and als.,
Komboa , a black militant who was
tricked into returning to American
soil and then suffered beatings and
is now in prison.

In addition to the support of these
people at the moment, we would like
to support any further people who
become victims of the prison system
as well as other organizations who
are involved in the same, such as tne
Anarchist Black Cross, Hapotoc, the
Joe Hill Memorial Committee and the IWW
General Defense organizations. The
Sheffield Black Cross can be contacted
at i

Box 13C, 341 Clossop Road,
Sheffield 10
Phone 667029 or ? 31780

What is, traditionally , the anarchist
flag - black or red & black?

The black flag as a symbol of revolt
is said to have originated in Rheims
in 1831 ("Work or death") in am
unemployed demonstration, but was
raised by Louise Michel as an anarchist
flag in 1883, which it has been
regarded as ever since. The flag
of the labour movement (not necessarily
only of socialism) is red. The CNT
of Spain originated the red-and-black
of anarcho-syndicalism (anarchism
plus the labour movement).

8

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SPAIN 1936 to 1977

SPAIN in 1936 threw up two of the
greatest talking points for anarchists
- the collaboration of CNT-FAI militants
and 'leaders', and the creation of a
short-lived but nonetheless practical
example of libertarian communism in the
collectives.

What lessons can we draw from these
two occurences?

First of all, how could declared
anarchists enter government and sell the
revolution to the supposed problems of
war? Secondly, what does the practical
example of the collectives mean even today

Upon the first point all I can say
is that the CNT-FAI 'leaders' had become
leaders, at least in their own minds. Even
in the face of the collectives they could
not see that their actions were endang-
ering the revolution that had been
declared by the grass-roots level of the
GNT.

In the long history of the GNT much
had happened to damage its anarchist
spirit. The repeated illegal isations and
the problems of carrying on in the face
of them could only have a deep effect on
such an organisation. What had been
created within the GNT was a political
party - elections for posts, the creation
of a bureaucracy and the favour shown to
certain militants (their adoption as
guides, or leading militants) - these
are the hallmarks of the beginnings of
authority and masters. Stagnating into
accepted procedures and the acclaim of
a vast following could have only one
effect upon those militants 1 the
subconscious, if not worse, feeling of
POWER.

As soon as the rebellion of Franco
and the falangists had taken place, those
leading militants were faced with a gross
dilemmai fascism and all its horrors, or
'democracy' and milder horrors. It did not
occur to them that the people would
decide. They had been too long at the top
of the GNT to think in terms of their will
When the leaders of the CNT-FAI were
offered posts in the government, they
succu mbed to the oldest of all tricks 1
the bribe of surprise. The authoritarian
who made this offer knew full well that
authority could win by bringing them over
to its side. After all, how could these
people lead an anti-authoritarian revo-
lution if they were in positions of
authority? (How can an . anti-author itarian
revolution be led at all?)

\

If there is blame to be laid at
anyone s door I must blame the syndicalists
and the syndicalist structure of the GNT.
This organization was large and struct-
ured, it had posts to be filled aund a
bureaucracy to operate. Here we have a
small state inside am organization
dedicated to libertarian communism. No
wonder it threw up leaders and the defeat,
not only of the anti-fascist cause (not
entirely its fault), but also of the
collectives.

The collectives were the beginnings
of a true expression of human potential.
They were destroyed as much by their friend
the CNT as by their enemies, the author-
itarians, both falangist and republican.

In them, people truly met each other and
lived, instead of existing in the yoke of
someone else's profit.

I hope this article will make our
comrades of the GNT look and consider
their past, I know this is happening to
a certain extent, but I fear that it may
be up to them to show the rest of us
the way once more. To others, please
consider all organizations. Do not
dismiss them absolutely, but make them
creative and unrestrictive. To all
comrades - Salud.

Nik Noir

10

SPECIAL BRANCH

NON-VIOLENT REVOLUTION

According to information given in
Parliament, the size of the Special Branch
is " 1 % of the total size of the police
force". This would give a theoretical
total of 1100 in England and Wales and 80
in Scotland. 550 are said to operate from
Scotland Yard, so on a theoretical
distribution of the others according to
the size of local forces, this would give
9 in Durham, whereas according to the
Chief Constable's Annual Report for 1976,
there are 14. Either the overall figure is
an underestimate, or, possibly, the SB is
more concentrated in urban and industrial
areas | the evidence suggests the former
explanation.

The theoretical figure of 80 in
Scotland gave 41 in Strathclyde and 14 in
Lothian & Borders, whereas the actual
numbers, according to the ' Glasgow Evening
Times', is 60 in Strathclyde and 21 in the
Lothian A Borders force (both these
figures about 50 ^ above the estimate).

This suggests that the total number of SB
in England and Wales is at least l600.

For South Yorkshire, the Chief
Constable's Reports give no mention of
Special Branch; the theoretical number is
17, but the above examples suggest that it
is likely to be at least 25-30#

The number of police receiving firearms
training is on the increase; the Home
Office recommends that 1<# of every force
has some weapons training - in S. Yorks,
this means about 200. There is also in
S. York shire a "special group" of 3° (at
least, that's the figure they'll admit
to) who are trained in tactics as well as
arms, and on a much more regular basis.

Quote; "THE SPECIAL BRANCH COLLECTS
INFORMATION ON THOSE WHOM I THINK CAUSE
PROBLEMS FOR THE STATE."

Interior Minister Merlyn Rees
in Hansard 2. 3# 78

Are your lads keeping an eye on us
anarchists, Mr. Barrett?

Alain Lucard

WE ARE THE SPG

We arm, we are, we are the SPG,
We are, we are, we are the SPG,
We're not human, we're not sane,
We'll beat you to your knees,

We are the SPG.

(SPG - Special Patrol Group)

My vision of non-violent revolution
isn't of a mass movement sweeping away the
institutions of the status quo, but of
people acting in their own situations to
take control of their own lives and
asserting different values, values which
have been systematically suppressed in the
growth of a society based on domination,
competition and a disregard for life.

Hierarchy - extending from the
domination of children by adults and of
women by men right to the pinnacles of
social power - is not simply a habit from
which we can free ourselves by willpower,
but a principle of organization built into
the basis of our social system. But
hierarchical structures do not exist
Independently of us and simply outside us-
they depend on our acquiescence and even
our active participation in them, and
they are as firmly planted in ways of life
and thinking as in the material organizat-
ion of society.

Nonviolent anarchism therefore poses
not only the traditional revolutionary
question, "who is in control?", but,
recognising that patriarchy binds together
technocratic, anti-ecological and
imperialist attitudes in every aspect of
our lives, adds "how might we live?" -
questions about life-style, sexuality,
re source -usage, quality.

Attempts at social revolution always
run the risk of violence, for no ruling
elite will surrender its power of its own
accord. Revolutionaries are often asked
whether or not it is NECESSARY to use
violence in making revolution. For
nonviolent anarchists, however - who
believe that the means we adopt in trying
to make a revolution should embody the
crucial aspects of the society we're
trying to bring into existence - the
question we need to discuss is HCW TO
MAKE NONVIOLENT REVOLUTION POSSIBLE.

I believe that nonviolence has to
be grounded in a growing culture which
combines communitarianism with struggle,
imagination with feeling, attention to
the details of everyday life with a
worldview, and determination with
responsibility. That culture is
reflected in the potential convergence
of anarchism and feminism.

(The above is taken from the pamphlet
'Making nonviolent revolution' by
Howard Clark. )

A THOUSAND AND FIRST LOOK AT ANARCHISM

ONE of the views I get of anarchism after this my first short period of real
involvement, is the warring state which tends to break out at times. This warring
is the result of tension which exists between differing ideologies sometimes
developing into open hostilities, but more often remaining the sort of hostility
which bars people from radical cooperation. The problem is that one particular
approach is expanded into an ideology whereas it should be recognized as either
just one approach or the answer to just one question. This is particularly evident
in the dichotomy between violent and non-violent or armed and un-armed forms of
activity.

In my view neither can win as they stand. The pacifist or unarmed struggle
not primarily because it is liberal, but because it can and does devolve into
liberal reformism. It does so via the strictures of legality, the form of struggle
put forward reinforcing the limits of legality by remaining generally within the
limits of this society's legality and also by creating its own legality which
appears as a morality. Also, it requires a level of mass movement which I believe
it impossible to attain so as to win - literally the entire, or 90#, of the unarmed
population. The aimed struggle has the problems of relevance and alienation. In a
society such as Britain’s, where the institutionalised violence is so subtle, and
where overt violence is so easily covered by the means of massive statist
propaganda, the armed struggle can only alienate if it stands on its own. It does
not alienate only where that power of the state does not exist, as in the poorer
and less able states, where statist manipulation is blunt and simple.

My statement that neither can win on their own does not mean that both
approaches should be abandoned. No-one would be sane if they did not realise that
the armed struggle taken up as the defence of the already igniting revolution at
the right moment may well have to happen. The rush to arms at the wrong moment
would be a catastrophic blow estranging many. Secondly, the refusal of arms would
be to dig one's own grave.

The basis of revolutionary practice must be to win while no-one is looking.

The method of non-violent action is all too public on a large scale and the armed
struggle is public in a frighteningly mystical way. Pacifism has the attack of a
moralistic propaganda but its cure is drawn out and precarious. The armed struggle
cam be clinically accurate amd effective in a limited way but can also be
frightening and mystifying to those without a true revolutionary consciousness,
it can be un constructive and uncreative. The sense of pacifism must go with us,
the anarchist society is one of peace. The liberating aspects of one act of
violence is immensely useful, it could so easily free us from the deep condit-
ioning of this society, and its urge to not harm the valued categories of this
society. Our victory must begin by creating the community and the communication
which have been excluded by this society and which are needed for anarchist
relations, before they need to be tested in full and open opposition to the status
quo. By this I do not mean an anarchism which does not reach outside of the
privacy of the home and friendship. But that anarchism must win in the sense of
community and communication before the state declares its inevitable war on a
massive scale so as to defeat the budding revolution.

One thing that the RAF has bequeathed to me, if no-one else, is the fact
that even though they have engaged in the armed struggle as much for the reason of
acquiring the knowledge of how to wage such a struggle, they have not passed on
that knowledge. They have shown that opposition is possible but the state has been
able to use that to paint a picture of the revolutionary as a technician and so
to take the Impulse of opposition away from the common people. The RAF has tried
to point out the fact that armed opposition is possible for most, but this does
not seem to have been gotten across. The simple fact of an opposition to the
subtly fascist regime-without-opposition is now apparent, even if they have fallen
into the trap of becoming a gaggle of heroic angels. They have succumbed to being
glittering objects of the pseudo-revolutionary as much as the lights in a
situation of darkness for the committed revolutionary. The basic experience of
opposition and armed defence is something which we must also learn and carry on,
adding to it all the time, and to those who will take up the struggle after us.

12

The techniques which will defend the emergent revolution must be available from
the outset so as to save as many lives as possible and to hasten the success of
that revolution.

Our first steps must be to build an active opposition to the subtle
techniques of manipulation which are so abundant in our society. We must begin our
revolution in everyday life by negating the everyday life of the status quo. Our
tasks should be to begin the awakening from our commodity-ridden spectacular
sleep. How should we do this? By forming amongst ourselves outgoing communities
which, despite differences, can work, live and communicate together.

We must above all begin by making our working lives and our leisure something
different. Our behaviour must change in its very essence. The manner of this
change can best be encapsulated by the phrase - we must absorb this life in its
entirity, add to that our vision and create out of the two our new society. We
begin here and now by subverting the empty of our lives and expanding the full.

One of the largest regions of emptiness in everyday life is that of technology
These are the barren wastes of industrial society. It is the area in life which
is crowded with the worship of abstracted science applied to an abstracted society
with abstracted goals. Technology is sent as a delivering angel but it tells us
simply the whereabouts of further estrangements from a life of quality, delivering
us into a life of fragments entirely without meaning and with only the lie of
satisfaction.

One thing we should not do is to abandon the entirety of the technological
experience. Its failure is in being applied too early in the wrong context or with
the wrong values for its application. We should subvert it by bringing it into the
arena of passion. Technology must be fully humanised by being placed at the feet
of our desires.

As we change our behaviour, for instance in the subversion of technology and
in the creation of a new form of community based upon the realisation that we all
have desires to be fulfilled, the question I put initially of violence or pacifism
becomes redundant. Just as technology pro or anti is seen in the wrong light, the
light of this society with its false contexts, false situations and values which
are empty of all but falsity, the question of violence pro or anti is false. Both
technology and violence shall appear in new forms as we near the fruition of our
designs, the difference, I believe, shall be that of passion. Our desires as
passionate desires shall have the force of violence and the substance and
ingenuity of technology. The whole category of means and ends shall become
meaningless as moral polarities fall before passionate communication which knows
only itself and simply cannot fit the strictures of moral analysis.

Morality and the analytical feature of means and ends occur as problems
only in this society because we feel we have to polarise good and evil. We do
this for our own ends as the practice of false security. Consequently, as we find
our integral identities, the need for morality shall disappear and with it the
entire problem of the armed struggle and non-violent action. The problem as such
arises out of the hypocrisy of the state, which pretends a generalised pacifism
but in actuality acts as though at permanent war,

I said earlier that the revolution shall succeed by us winning while no-one
Is looking. By this I mean that victory should not be based upon the classical
principle of war, of might overcoming the enemy, be the struggle violent or
non-violent. In such a classical form of struggle tension and activity would build
until the opposition - authority, the state, the law - capitulates. This has been
the fora of all previous struggles and their possibilities have always been lost
to further authority. The winning revolution might be characterised by an
eventual calming of tension as people return to their everyday lives but in
new ways. Instead of coming home from the trenches or a sit-in one would be
returning from the initial exposition of rebellion to a new society which you are
going to build from within. The creative and constructive aspects of the dawn
would manifest themselves while the police and the army are still on the streets.
The revolutionary militias would only Intervene at the point of the authoritar-
ians' frustrations when he or she loses off a round in desperation,

Nik Noir

13

Anarchism has declared war on the pernicious
influences which have so far prevented the
harmonious blending of individual and social
instincts, the individual and society.

Religion, the dominion of the human raindj
Property, the dominion of human needs and
Government, the dominion of human conduct,
represent the stronghold of man's enslavement
and all the horrors it entails. Religion I
How it dominates man's mind, how it
humiliates and degrades his soul. God is
everything, man is nothing, says religion.

But out of that nothing God has created a
kingdom so despotic, so tyrannical, so
cruel, so terribly exacting that naught but
gloom and taers and blood have ruled the
world since gods began. Anarchism rouses
man to rebellion against this black monster.
Break your mental fetters, says Anarchism
to man, for not until you think and judge
for yourself will you get rid of the
dominion of darkness, the greatest obstacle
to all progress.

EMMA GOLDilAN

'o

15

For us it is a question of crushing
fascism once and for all. Yes, and in
spite of government.

No government in the. world fights fascism
to the death. When the bourgeoisie sees
power slipping from its grasp it has
recourse to fascism to maintain itself.
The liberal government of Spain could
have rendered the fascist elements
powerless long ago. Instead it temporised
and compromised and dallied. Even now at
this moment, there are men in this
government who want to go easy with the
rebels. You never can tell, you know -
the present government might yet need
these these rebellious forces to crush
the workers' movement,

Buenaventura Durutti
Sept. I 936

On March 28 , 1915» addressing a
mixed audience of 600 people in New
York '8 popular Sunrise Club, E mma.
(Goldman) publicly explained for the
first time anywhere in America how to
use a contraceptive. She was soon
arrested, and after a stormy, sensational
trial, she was given the choice of 15
days in the workhouse or a 100 dollar
fine. Having already served a year in
prison back in 1894 for an inflammatory
speech, she had no qualms about 15
days. When she chose jail the entire
courtroom cheered her. Margaret
Anderson of "The Little Review" observed
"Emma Goldman was sent to prison for
advocating that women need not always
keep their mouths shut and their wombs
open." As soon as her sentence was up,
Emma went right back to delivering the
same lectures all over the country.
Arrested repeatedly, she turned every
courtroom she could into a public
forum on the right of a woman to
control her own body ...

From the introduction to
'The Traffic in women and other essays*

"There can be no separation of the
revolutionary process from the
revolutionary goal. A society based on
self-administration must be achieved
by self-administration."

Murray Book chin

FAREWELL l

We cannot break our chains with weak

desire,

With whines and supplicating cries.

'Tis not by crawling meekly in the mire
The free-winged eagle learns to mount

the skies.

The gladiator, victor in the fight,

On whom the hard-contested laurels fall,
Goes not into the arena pale with fright
But steps forth fearlessly, defying all,

0 victory, 0 victory, dear and fair,

Thou crownest him who does his best,

Who, perishing, still unafraid to bear,
Gbes down to dust, thy image in his breast.

Farewell, 0 comrades, I scorn life as a

slave!

1 begged no tyrant for my life, though

sweet it was*

Though chained, I go un conquered to my

grave,

Dying for my own birthright - and the

world's.

RICARDO FLORES MAGON

(Written just before his murder in
Leavenworth Penitentiary, Nov. 22, 1922)

16

Printed by Sheffield Anarchist Press, 310 Albert Rd*, S8

THE SHEFFIELD

ANARCHIST

VOL. 2 NO. I NOV. 1978 pay what you like

The

new head of

MI6 is:

ARTHUR FRANKS

New MI5 phone no. :

01-222 6266

PLUS-- PERSONS UNKNOWN

sim fascism

welcome

Welcome to this issue (Vol.2 No.l) of
the "Sheffield Anarchist ", which has
been produced by the Sheffield
Autonomous Anarchists, in conjunction
with the Sheffield Young Autonomists*

We apologise for the delay since the
last issue(Vol.l N 0 .I 4 ), which was due
mainly to difficulties in Sheffield
which we'll not go into in this
introduction.

We hope that we will be able now
to produce the paper on a more-or-less
monthly basis, hopefully, when there is
sufficient interest and numbers of
people involved, expanding from the
present format*

We want to make the paper a much
more open forum for the discussion of
anarchist ideas, especially in Sheffield
and the Yorkshire area, as well as
printing news and views of what's going
on in the world, and all the other
functions of the paper (whatever they
are - who said bogpaper?)* So, please -
let's have lots of feedback and
involvement .

BUZBY

SAYS

BIG

BROTHER

WHOST TAPPING
YOUR PHONE

DEPT.

Paces move across the screen as the
camera scams the crowd. Suddenly, the
picture freezes and zooms in on one
particular face* In front of the TV
screen, the voice speaks into its
microphone, "That's the one we wamt this
time, the one with dark hair and sun-
glasses, about five rows back in the
middle behind the big union banner",
amd outside in the street, a dozen cops
race from a sidestreet to grab the
victim.

Science fiction of 1984? No, it
could happen in Sheffield very soon
thanks to the "eye-in- the -sky" cameras
that are proposed for the city centre.

Close-circuit TV cameras, which cam
scam entire streets and cam zoom up on
particular spots are plamned for the city
centre, supposedly to improve the bus
service, but even "The Star" gives the
game away when it says the "cameras
could also be used by police.... to
monitor traffic movements" - amd also
to monitor people.

•••A HHvdiM for
TH£ SniXAL-Z

UK6 ■■ '

*

®Uck fif\q